Indicator for the cooling liquid of internal combustion engines



Sept. 2, 1941.

E. J. RICHLEY INDICATOR FOR THE COOLING LIQUID OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed May 21, 1938 Fla. 4

INVENTOR. BY EZMER J HIc'HLEY ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 2, 1941 INDECATGR FGR THE COQLING LIQUID OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Elmer J. Richley, Cleveland, Ohio Application May 21, 1938, Serial No. 209,254

2 Claims.

This invention relates to means for measuring a property of the cooling liquid for internal combustion engines and particularly to those auxiliary devices accompanying or supplementing capillarimeters such as described in the Patent No. 2,059,961 granted to me November 3, 1936.

As conducive to a clearer understanding of this invention, it may be well'to point out that the gauge described in detail in the aforementioned patent works and operatessatisiactorilyin automobiles of somewhat older design and construction, and particularly in those vehicles in which the normal level of the radiator liquid is lower than the capillary gauge mounted on the dashboard. In the more modern automobiles those designed with high radiators and comparatively low dash-boards; because of the fact that water has the tendency to seek its own level, the capillarimeters could not at all times be used properly and accurately. The liquid in such instances flooded the gauge and could not drain olf sufficiently to clear thechambers, cavities and channels so as to leave the proper amount of the liquid to be tested in the reservoir in which the capillary testing tube was inserted. This difficulty was often aggravated when the automobile happened to be headed on an incline.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the invention to provide an apparatus which facilitates the gauging of the condition and the freezing characteristics of the liquid used for cooling automobile engines.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of this invention may be had by referring to the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing and in which like parts are referred to by like characters and in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of an automobile engine having a trap-valve attached thereto and 4 showing the circulation of radiator liquid through the engine and test circuit;

Figure 2 is a schematic view of the test circuit showing capillarimeter in readable condition;

Figure 3 is a side sectional view of the trapvalve,taken along the line 3-3 of Figure Figure 4 is a front sectional view of the trap valve, taken along the line 4- 5 of Figure 5;

Figure 5, is a part plan and part sectional view of the trap-valve, taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the device,'taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 3;

Figure '7 is an enlarged sectional View of the valve mechanism; and

Figure 8 isa horizontal sectional viewer the valve mechanism, raken along :the line 8-8 of the Figures 4: or 7.

In the drawing 'Figure 1 is a rather comprehensive viewof the capillarimeter and'the trapvalve constituting this'inventionand connected to an automobile engine. In this figure, there is shown the cooling liquid at 9 circulating through the radiator 3i, the xwater-jacket of the engine the pump 31% and the connecting hose 32 and 23%; and also passing-through the test circuit con-- sisting of the capillarimeter It, which is mounted on the dash-board E6, thetrap-valve 20, the filter 2'1, and the connecting pipes Hi, I5, and a connected inparallel thereto.

Briefly described the capillarimeter ii consists of a chamber ii, in which there isa longitudinal cavity i'l, an adjacent channel is and a by-pass 2!, which by-pass causes a reservoir'ZZ to be formed in the bottom of the cavity ii, in

which a calibrated capillary tube H is inserted for the purpose of gauging the character of the liquid. The channel it is provided with an overflow valve .23 and air vent 2G. The chamber openings are suitably tapped or provided with means for the attachment thereto of the 'feed pipe E50. and the drain pipe i i.

The trap-valve is connected by thepipe 15 to the pressure side of the water pump '3' l with the filter 2i interposed between it and the pump 35 to keep the test circuit 'free from foreign matter or solids which might disrupt its operation, interfere with its efiiciency or which might clog the capillary tube M. It is also connected by-the inclined pipe 15a tothe 'capillarimeter Iii. The capillarimeter Ill which maybe positioned lower than the top level of the liquid i9 in the radiator 3i, is connected to the said radiator'by the pipe hi. The pipe 54, however, must at "some portion of its length, such as the. point 3? thereon, be higher than the radiator over-flow pipe'fi so as to prevent toomuch of the liquid H from flowing back into the capillarimeter it! when the eactor stops running, or at least not more'of it than the trap-valve 20 can accommodate. The outlet pipe M must also be somewhat higher than the level of the radiator liquid l9 and above the top of the overflow pipe 36 to prevent a syphonal action from the capillarimeter ill.

The trap-valve 20 itself is made of two concave plates or cups Aland 42 respectively, their concave sides facing each other and their brims or edges 4t firmly fastenedtogethcr with small bolts 44 and nuts-45. The two cups 4! and 42 thus assembled, form ahollow chamber.

Interposed between the two cups 4| and 42 is a floating diaphragm 46 made of a sheet of flexible or pliable material which is impervious to water. A disk of rubber-or similar elastic material may also be used satisfactorily to simply divide the hollow chamber into lower and upper variable sized compartments 41 and 48 respectively.

To the diaphragm 46 is attached a simple valve 1 which is composed of a valve-case 49, a valve-seat 5|, a valve-head 52 and a compression spring 53. The valve-case 49 is internally threaded so as to receive the externally threaded valve-seat 5|, and also has several apertures 54 for allowing the liquid I9 to pass through. The valve-seat 5| has a face 55 and is provided with an internal shoulder 51 and an external fiange 56. The valve-head 52 snugly fits the face 55 and closes oil the apertures 54 when the compression spring 53 is in its normal position and which position is shown in the Figure 7. Attached to the bottom of the valve 1 or particularly to the valve-seat 5|, is a simple metal loop 68. The valve-head 52 is connected to the plunger-head 58 by the piston rod 59, and is kept in its normal position by the compression spring 53 which rests at one end on the shoulder 51 and which presses against the plunger-head 58 at its opposite end. To facilitate fastening the valve 1 to the aforementioned diaphragm 46 and to keep it in an upright position, the diaphragm 46 is sandwiched in between two rigid rings or disks of metal, fiber or other suitable material which are indicated in the drawings by the characters 6| and 62 respectively. The'lower disk 6| and the upper disk 62 are perforated to accommodate the valve-seat 5| and are firmly held together by the flange 56 and the valve-case 49 which is' threadedly attached thereto.

The cups 4| and 42 are formed with top and 4 bottom shelves 64 and 63 respectively to accommodate the disks BI and 62. The inclined sides 65 and 66 of the cups 4| and 42 cause the valve 1, by reason of the disks 6| and 62 fitting the shelves 63 and 64, to be in a vertical position 62 to shrink or decrease the size of the lower compartment 41, and to correspondingly increase the capacity of the upper compartment 48. However, when the liquid I9 is forced through the inlet tube 61 under pressure, it causes the valve 1 and the attached disks 6| and 62 and the diaphragm 46 to rise, thereby shrinking or decreasing the capacity of the upper compartment 48 and correspondingly increasing the size of the lower compartment 41. When this happens, the plunger-head 58 strikes the top portion of the cup 42 and opens the valve 1 as clearly shown in Figure 3.

In operation, the liquid I9 circulates through the test circuit as follows: Starting at the pump 34 it passes through the pipe I5, is cleansed by the filter 21, and passes into and through the valve-trap 20 constituting a feature of this invention. The liquid I9 having entered and filled the lower compartment 41 through the inlet tube 61, forces the diaphragmal pliable material 46 with its attached valve 1 upward until the plunger-head 58 strikes the top 42 and thereby separates the valve-head 52 from the valve-seat 5|. This opening permits the liquid I9 to enter into the upper compartment 48 through the apertures 54, and from there to the capillarimeter III by way of the outlet coupling 15 and the pipe I 5a. From the capillarimeter ID, the liquid goes back to the place of beginning by way of the pipe I4. The construction and scheme of circulation of the liquid I9 through the capillarimeter I I], is specifically described in detail in the Patent No. 2,059,961 heretofore referred to.

- The outlet coupling 15 is slightly off the center of the top portion 14 of the cup 42 so as not to interfere with the operation of the valve 1 which is in and moves in a central vertical line.

The motor may be stopped to take a reading of the capillarimeter I8. When this is done, the pressure ceases and the expansion spring 1I contracts and draws the valve 1 downward, to permit its closure by spring 53. Simultaneously the space in the upper compartment 48 is increased and the liquid in the pipe I4 from the point 31 to the capillarimeter II], the surplus liquid in the capillarimeter itself, and all or part of the liquid in the pipe I5a flows back into the trap-valve 20, thereby enabling the capillary tube I I to function properly. This is quite clearly illustrated in the schematic view Figure 2. If the motor is not stopped but is throttled down to a point where the water pressure is not great enough to overcome the tension of the spring 1 I, a reading may be also taken.

The quantity of liquid that is required to remain in the reservoir 22 of the capillarimeter III for the capillary tube I I to function, is very small. About one cubic centimeter is sufiicient. Therefore, the pipes I4, I5 and 15a need not be very large and by using comparatively small diameter tubing for this purpose, the upper compartment 48 likewise need not be very large to accommodate the liquid drained and. trapped therein. As a result, the herein described trap-valve may be made small, compact, inexpensive and installed so as not to interfere or obstruct any other devices on the automobile.

While the invention is described herein in its preferred form and while certain specific terms and language have been used, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is illustrative rather than restrictive, and that no limitations upon the invention are intended other than those which are imposed thereon by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for determining an attribute of the liquid contained in the cooling system of an internal combustion engine wherein the liquid is circulated through the water jacket and radiator associated with said engine by means of a circulating pump, a capillarimeter for gauging the liquid, said capillarimeter having a reservoir for trapping a predetermined quantity of said liquid, a conduit from the top of said capillarimeter to said system, a trap situated below said capillarimeter and connected thereto and to the circulating pump of said engine by conduits, valve means in the trap and so constructed and arranged to permit normal circulation of a part of said liquid therethrough when said engine is operated at driving speed and to prevent circulation when said engine is stopped or idling, means forming an expansible chamber in said trap and actuated upon closure of said valve, the

combined capacity of said chamber and the conduit connecting the capillarimeter and said trap being of such size as to receive and contain the excess of liquid in said apparatus when said valve is closed.

2. In an apparatus for determining an attribute of the liquid contained in the cooling system of an internal combustion engine wherein the liquid is circulated through the water jacket and radiator associated with said engine by means of a circulating pump, a capillarimeter for gauging the liquid, said capillarimeter having a reservoir for trapping a predetermined quantity of said liquid, a conduit from the said capillarimeter to said system, a trap connected to the capillarimeter and to the circulating pump of said engine by conduits, valve means in the trap and so constructed and arranged to permit normal circulation of a part of said liquid therethrough when said engine is operated at driving speed and to prevent circulation when said engine is stopped or idling, means forming an expansible chamber in said trap and actuated upon closure of said valve, the combined capacity of said chamber and the conduit connecting the capillarimeter and said trap being of such size as to receive and containv the excess of liquid in said apparatus when said valve is closed.

ELMER J. RICI-ILE'Y. 

